---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 1994 12:11:44 EDT
From: W Ted Rogers <WTR100F%ODUVM.bitnet@uvmvm.uvm.edu>
Subject: Serials service desk survey results
I recently posted a survey on serials service desks here as we here
at Old Dominion University Library are in the first stages of
planning a serials service desk to service patron needs on the
current display and bound volumes floor of the library. Enough
interest was generated to warrant posting the results. I tried to
restrict myself in categorizing the responses by referring only to
explicit statements in the responses with minimal inference on my
part. The exception is question 6 regarding the level of
instruction given new staff on the desk which required quite a bit
of inference on my part.
1. In your library, what is the purpose of the serials service
desk. Is it purely informational or does it include other
services, e.g. journal circulation, journal reserve, etc.?
Total responses: 17. Categories of responses:
ACCESS (INFORMATIONAL/DIRECTIONAL): 17 of 17.
CIRCULATION: 10 of 17 (2 of 10 mentioned circulation of
other types of media beyond journals).
RESERVE: 4 of 17.
OPAC & OTHER EQUIP. ASSISTANCE: 5 of 17, although some may
have held OPAC assistance implicit in
access assistance.
CITATION INTERPRETATION: 4 of 17, although some may have held
this as implicit in access assistance.
JOURNAL STACKS MAINTENANCE: 2 of 17.
REFERENCE: 6 of 17 (the high number is due to many
providing assistance for networked databases).
TECH. SERVICES FUNCTIONS: 1 of 17.
2. Organizationally, how does the serials service desk fit into
your library's organizational structure? Is it part of the
serials acquisitions unit, public services, etc?
Total responses: 17. Categories of responses:
SERIALS: 4 of 17.
ACQUISITIONS (incl. serials): 4 of 17.
TECHNICAL SERVICES: 1 of 17.
REFERENCE: 3 of 17.
PUBLIC SERVICES: 5 of 17.
3. At which hours is the serials service desk staffed relative
to the hours at which the library is open? If available,
please include your peak staffing hours.
Total responses: 17. Categories of responses [note: there is
overlap between categories]:
ALL HOURS LIBRARY OPEN: 10 of 17.
CLOSES EARLIER THAN LIBRARY: 5 of 17, of whom one specified
2 hrs and one specified 1 hr.
OPENS LATER THAN LIBRARY: 5 of 17, of whom one specified
2 hrs, one specified 1 hr, and one
specified 1/2 hr.
HOURS COINCIDE WITH REFERENCE: 3 of 17.
Peak hours total responses: 9.
MID-MORNING THROUGH EVENING: 2 of 9.
LATE MORNING-EARLY TO MID-AFTERNOON: 1 of 9.
AFTERNOON: 3 of 9.
LATE AFTERNOON-EARLY EVENING: 1 of 9.
EVENING: 1 of 9.
VARIES: 1 of 9.
4. Please provide a brief summary of the scope of the questions
received and the information provided at your serials service
desk.
Total responses: 17. Examples:
"Where are the restrooms?" "Where are the 1993 issues of
TIME?" "How can I find articles about environmental
scanning?" "What is the current population of Japan?" "Has
a particular issue of a title been received?" " Does the
library subscribe to a particular title?" " Where is a
particular issue?" "How do I find this title?" "What does
this printout/citation mean?" "Where are the articles on (any
subject)?" "How do I find a citation for an article published
in 1983 by a guy named Simpson; it had the word culmination in
the title?" Assistance was provided with OPACs, microform
reader/printers, media equipment, and CD-ROM databases.
5. By whom is the serials service desk staffed, viz. is it
staffed by professional librarians, by paraprofessional staff,
by classified support staff, by student assistants, by any
combinations of the aforementioned?
Total responses: 17. Categories of responses [note: there is
overlap between categories]:
LIBRARIANS: 6 of 17, of whom 2 specified that librarians
served only as backup.
PARAPROFESSIONAL, CLASSIFIED & SUPPORT STAFF: 16 of 17, of
whom 2 specified that these categories of
employees served only as backups.
GRADUATE ASSISTANTS: 1 of 17.
STUDENT ASSISTANTS: 16 of 17, of whom 1 specified that
SAs served without any backup.
6. What sort of training is provided for those who staff the
serials service desk? By whom is this training provided?
Does this same person also co-ordinate scheduling staff for
the desk?
Total responses: 17. Categories of responses [note: there is
overlap between categories]:
TRAINED BY LIBRARIAN: 4 of 17.
TRAINED BY SUPPORT STAFF: 12 of 17.
TRAINED BY STUDENT ASSISTANTS: 1 of 17, noting that only
very experienced SAs did training
and it was in conjunction with
staff.
WHO DOES TRAINING NOT ADDRESSED: 2 of 17, one of whom noted
it was undecided during
reorganization and one of whom
merely gave the library department
responsible.
FORMAL TRAINING: 4 of 17.
MODERATELY FORMAL TRAINING: 6 of 17.
INFORMAL TRAINING: 2 of 17.
LEVEL OF TRAINING NOT ADDRESSED: 4 of 17, one of whom noted
it was undecided due to
reorganization; the others did not
provide enough information for me to
make a valid inference.
TRAINER RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHEDULING: 10 of 17.
TRAINER NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHEDULING: 0 of 17.
SCHEDULING NOT ADDRESSED: 7 of 17.
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond. The
information provided will be very helpful for ODU's library faculty
and staff in making some important decisions.
MAIL TELECOMMUNICATIONS
W Ted Rogers Internet: wtr100f@oduvm.cc.odu.edu
Serials Librarian or: wtr100f@shakespeare.lib.odu.edu
University Library Bitnet: wtr100f@oduvm
Old Dominion University Ph.: 804 683-4144
Norfolk, VA 23529-0256 Fax: 804 683-5035
